Four months after Congress authorized the Harriet Tubman home in Auburn as a National Historical Park, advocates are still waiting for the National Park Service to finalize the details. Senator Chuck Schumer stopped in Auburn to call on the NPS to fast-track the designation so it can receive critical federal funding.
He visited not long after being elected senator about 15 years ago, and remembers people saying then how National Park status could boost Tubman’s…and the community’s exposure.
"Of course, preserving the park, creating the park, and marketing the park take money. Only when this park has been formally established by the National Park Service, can the park tap into these critical funds that are allocated by Congress every year. So, this establishment is a key step in the process."
So, what's holding things up? Part of the process includes arranging a land rights agreement with the park service, which could involve outright sale, or easements that function like a lease.
The Cayuga County Office of Tourism estimates annual attendance would double to about 20,000 visitors, who would spend an additional $3.1 million. Tubman Home President Karen Hill says that’s why national park designation means so much to the community at large.
"The business is not just the church and the not for profits that are important sectors, but the business community is behind this effort. That spoke volumes."
Schumer was joined by descendants of Tubman, including 87-year-old great-great grand niece Pauline Copes-Johnson. But Schumer says there are so many others who’ve dedicated themselves to Tubman’s story and legacy, as well.
"The local people here have been amazing. They have been the descendants in terms of their hard work, their community spirit, their generosity of spirit, working so hard and so long, not letting all the barriers that were in the way stop them. It's the folks here that are the real reason this has happened."
Schumer is urging the park service to work with that team as they work through the logistics of creating the national park. He’s not sure of a timeline; he’s just putting on some pressure get it done well and quickly.
